Dog toy



J. FOWLER Jan. 2, 1940.

DOG TOY Filed July 14, 1938 I Patented Jan. 2, 1940 U bl i i iii habitat1 Claim.

My invention relates to amusement devices or toys of that type designedto be used as playthings by dogs and other small animals, and commonlyknown as dog toys.

Dog toys of various shapes and designs are commonly made of rubber, andalthough other materials are sometimes used rubber of substantialquality. prevails to a considerable extent for the reason that as thedog or puppy is inclined to bite or chew the toy material of this kindwill not injure his teeth. However, toys of this character which aremade of rubber, or impregnated fiber or cloth, are more easily destroyedthan those which are made of harder or more durable substances, and asthe dog is inclined to swallow pieces of the material torn from the toyrubberand like materials have a deleterious effect on the dog.Furthermore, dog toys made of some of the materials now in use serve toattract and amuse grown dogs for only a comparatively short while, whichhas suggested the idea of impregnating certain materials, of which thetoy is made, with substances appealing to the sense of taste, but suchimpregnated materials lack the required durability, and in otherrespects are not altogether desirable.

For the purpose of providing a harmless toy which will be attractive toa dog or other small animal, which will be durable in use, and whichwill appeal to the animals sense of taste in practically the same manneras a natural bone, my invention contemplates a construction in which theouter portion or casing of the toy is of thoroughly dried rawhide fromwhich the hair has been removed, whereby said outer casing or cover willprovide a natural beef odor and flavor to maintain the dogs interest inthe toy as well as withstand the rough treatment to which toys of thischaracter are subjected.

My invention further contemplates a particular construction of toy bywhich the several parts constituting the same are secured together insuch a manner as to protect them from becoming separated by the doggripping the toy in hismouth or chewing on it to obtain the flavor fromthe rawhide.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a' view illustrating the carrying out of my invention, inwhich the dog toy is in the form of a bone.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the toyillustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view, showing a modification in the construction ofthe toy, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are views illustrating a modification in the shape of thetoy.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in the several views ofthe drawing.

In carrying out my invention the toy in each -6 instance is made up of acore of suitable ma-- terial enclosed by a casing or cover of rawhidefrom which the hair has been removed and which has been thoroughly driedto provide a comparatively hard surface while maintaining 10 its naturalodor and flavor.

As illustrated in Fig. l the toy is constructed to simulate aconventional form of animal bone with a rubber core it covered byrawhide, it, and although this covering of rawhide may be 16 in a singlepiece stitched together at its meeting edges I prefer to make it of twopieces brought together around the sides of the core with the contiguousedges, lit, it, connected by stitches iii. The connected edges projectlaterally from 2 the body portion of the simulated bone to increase itsattractiveness and provide portions on which the dog or puppy may griphis teeth in carrying the toy, and in order to protect the stitches frombeing torn or broken by the dog's teeth when, he is engaged in chewingon or gnawing the simulated bone said stitches are located close againstthe body with the latter projecting slightly over the stitches. Therubber core will provide a certain amount of resiliency or give to theteeth oi" the dog, and consequently the rubber core may be made or" hardor soft rubber according to the amount of resiliency desired in theconstruction of the article. However, instead of a rubber core it may bemade of any other substance or material, as for instance made up ofseveral laminations of leather, as illustrated in Fig. 3, in which thetwo-piece rawhide cover is also designated by the numeral ll, while theleather strips are designated by the numeral it. Otherwise theconstruction is the same as with a rubber core.

Although the several piecesof material constituting the simulated.animal bone will be firmly secured together by the stitches around theedges of the rawhide cover the durability of the article will bematerially increased by the addition of a line of stitches, ll, at thelongitudinal center of the toy, Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, as theywill augment the other stitches 5 to more securely hold the severalpieces together. Furthermore, by first stitching the pieces together attheir longitudinal center the sewing of the stitches around the edges ofthe two-piece cover can be more easily accomplished, 5

and thus facilitate the manufacture of the toy. This manner of securingthe several pieces together is especially desirable when the toy made ofany particular design is comparatively flat, as for instance in theshape of a bone, it being understood however that I reserve the right tomake the article in various shapes or attractive designs. It is alsocontemplated to make the core of one or more thicknesses of leather, orother material, and in stitching the several pieces or laminationstogether at the center said stitches are terminated a short distancefrom each end of the article.

As a further modification the dog toy may be made up in the form of aball, illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, in which the core or inside materialI5 is preferably made of rubber. In this instance, also, the rawhidecover II of the ball is made in two sections with the surroundingcontiguous edges, 45, IE, connected by stitches l3 passing through saidedges close to the body of the ball, but in order that the edges l6, IEwill not project beyond the contour of the ball, so that it may rollfreely over the floor or ground on which the dog is playing with thetoy, they are slightly inset, as shown in the drawing. This arrangementnot only provides for free movement of the ball but also protects thestitches from being torn or broken by the slightly protruding portionsof the body of the ball above and below the contiguous edges of the twopieces of rawhide, as in the case of the design of toy simulating anatural animal bone.

The application of my invention in making up a dog toy in the form of aball is merely another example of the scope to which the invention maybe put, and consequently I do not restrict my invention as to the designof the toy nor to the number of thicknesses of material forming the coreover which the rawhide cover is secured.

The rawhide cover of untanned and ufioil'ed beef hide provides asubstance that is easily digested by the dog in the event particles aredetached while the dog is chewing on the toy, and juice produced byadmixture with the saliva from the dog's mouth will be relished to suchan extent that the dog will maintain continued interest in the toy. Thethoroughly dried rawhide cover and filling of rawhide sewed together, asindicated in Figs. 1 and 3, will last a considerable length of time andthe line of stitches along the. I

longitudinal center will hold the parts together while being chewed bythe dog, and in use with a rubber core only the cover will be softenedby the saliva from the dogs mouth. Any objection to the use of rubber asthe core for the rawhide cover may be overcome by the use of laminatedleather, hereinbefore referred to, or the toy may be made up entirely ofseveral thicknesses of raw- -a bone, a filling of like material andcontour but smaller in size to form a core, a line of stitches aroundthe margin of the toy to secure the two cover pieces closely togetheraround the core, and a line of stitches at the longitudinal centerextending through the cover pieces and core and terminating at each enda short distance from the marginal stitches, forming a dog toy havingthe natural qualities appealingto the smell and taste of a dog and otherdomestic animals.

JOHN FQWLER.

